Enough. My intention when I accepted the contract in March to work six weeks at the Province as interim editor was to remain anonymous.
It was always my first notion to work and play under the radar when I “semi-retired” from the mainstream media last February.
Any writing I was to do was to be outside Central Alberta. But Lea Smaldon, the managing editor of Mountain View Publishing Inc., which owns the Province, is an old friend and colleague of mine. She needed help here until the new permanent editor arrives next month. Okay, the right thing to do is to help out an old friend but it was also imperative for me, at least at first, to remain somewhat invisible.
That didn’t last long. Folks at the newspaper and in this community are just so downright nice. Who would ever want to remain anonymous in such circumstances?
And it also must be said that it now seems I have a face many people have trouble forgetting. This leaves me thinking too that there are just some things in the past one can’t run from.
For me, it is my 15 minutes or so of fame nearly two years ago on Discovery Channel’s hit series Canada’s Worst Handyman. Yup, I am that guy. I am the dude that won it all and took home the ice fishing hut trophy in season four. I was crowned Canada’s very worst handyman for 2009.
But so-called fame, I thought at the time, would be fleeting. For a few weeks or so there would be the odd “hello, are you the guy…” thing at the grocery store, a restaurant, and maybe at the movie theatre. It did not work out that way.
In the past two summers, whether I was in Alberta, visiting B.C. and Saskatchewan, my days have repeatedly experienced warm greetings from hundreds of strangers – all of them introducing themselves somewhat apologetically and then at some point bursting with chuckles. I never realized I was in any way entertaining. It certainly wasn’t meant to be.
The truth was that I sincerely tried to rid myself of life-long phobias on instructions and power tools. The goal was to then build or fix something. As many witnessed on the boob tube it didn’t work out. Yes, there was plenty of fancy editing to garner optimum laughter. But in the end I was sincerely bad on television, just as much as I was and still am at home.
My wife Darlis still loves me though, even if she still has to be Ms. Fix It around the house, whether it is repairing a dripping tap or figuring out some sort of computer glitch. On April 10 it was my birthday. Darlis bought me an iPad. Wonderful gift. But it wouldn’t connect to the Internet. Guess who got it fixed?
Here at the office I write on a Mac, which is new for me. Thank goodness reporter/photographer Justina Contenti is not only a nice understanding young woman but one graced with a modicum of technical smarts. She has kindly come to my rescue countless times when my Mac trials overwhelm me.
So the bottom line here is that nothing has changed. Canada’s Worst Handyman is as bad as ever. And that is okay. After all I have endured the experience with the attitude that while I am just plain lousy at some things I can excel at others. A good dose of humility can go a long way.
In the meantime, for the next four weeks Innisfail citizens can go about their business knowing the editorial of their local newspaper is run by Canada’s Worst Handyman.
I promise, with a proven record of excellence, I will give you top-notch quality community newspaper service. But just don’t ask me to fix any bad plumbing.
